Machine tool vise

ABSTRACT

A machine tool vise having a base with five squared sides including a planar bottom adapted to be releasably mounted on a worktable of a machine tool and the like and having the same overall length regardless of the extent to which the fixed and movable jaws are separated, the movable jaw being slidably mounted on a wide rail secured to end blocks in which a plurality of laterally spaced feed screws are mounted for rotation in thrust-absorbing means, the feed screws being located beneath said wide rail, each feed screw having a gear fixed thereto and a driving gear located between and meshing with said gears to cause the screws to rotate in unison, said driving gear having a socket to removably receive a wrench or the like for rotating said gears and said feed screws to cause the latter to open or close the jaws, the wide rail being located in a horizontal plane above that of the feed screw and serves as a horizontal support for a workpiece placed between the fixed and movable jaws.

[ Jan. 29, 11974 States atet 1 Nelson MACHINE TOOL WEE [75] Inventor:Leonard Nelson, Trumbull, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Custom Tool & Machine Co. Inc.,

Bridgeport, Conn.

[22] Filed: Apr. 12, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 243,306

[52] US. Cl. 269/, 269/219 [51] llnt. Cl. B251) 1/10 [58] Field ofSearch 269/240-245, 201, 269/221, 222, 219

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,274,428 2/1942 Odin269/244 X 3,208,744 9/ 1965 Slifer 269/247 1,406,981 2/l922 Cumner269/240 X 1,904,798 4/1933 Numberger.. 269/244 2,880,638 4 1959 Muggli269/241 x 2,499,124 2 1950 Zipp et al. 269/32 x Primary Examiner-HaroldD. Whitehead Assistant ExaminerHarold P. Smith, Jr. Attorney, Agent, orF irm-Johnson and Kline 57] AESACT A machine tool vise having a basewith five squared sides including a planar bottom adapted to bereleasably mounted on a worktable of a machine tool and the like andhaving the same overall length regardless of the extent to which thefixed and movable jaws are separated, the movable jaw being slidablymounted on a wide rail secured to end blocks in which a plurality oflaterally spaced feed screws are mounted for rotation inthrust-absorbing means, the feed screws being located beneath said widerail, each feed screw having a gear fixed thereto and a driving gearlocated between and meshing with said gears to cause the screws torotate in unison, said driving gear having a socket to removably receivea wrench or the like for rotating said gears and said feed screws tocause the latter to open or close the jaws, the wide rail being locatedin a horizontal plane above that of the feed screw and serves as ahorizontal support for a workpiece placed between the fixed and movablejaws.

1 Claim, 10 Drawing Figures MACHINE TOOL VlSE This invention relates toa vise for holding workpieces on the worktable of machine tools,particularly workpieces the surfaces of which are to be worked upon in agrinding machine or the like.

In the art of tool making and precision manufacturing of critical partsor machines, it has been desired to have a vise which can convenientlybe used to hold workpieces on the tables of machine tools, such asmilling machines, planing machines and grinding machines and the like,especially a vise which can be mounted on a magnetic worktable or othersupport on five of its six sides that is to say, on the bottom, rightside, left side, right end and left end; in other words, a vise whichmay be supported on any side but the top side.

To satisfy this want, applicant has provided a frame structure for avise with a flat planar bottom plate and sturdy end pieces secured tothe bottom plate and so disposed that the top and side edges of the endpieces are finished flat and square with each other and with the bottomplate.

For this and other reasons, the vise of the present invention is soconstructed that no parts of the vise protrude beyond the planes inwhich the bottom and top and side surfaces of the end pieces lie.

It has long been a problem in designing a small vise with a large amountof open capacity and yet keep the base length small. For example, aconventional vise in which the movable jaw moves outwardly from thefixed jaw along with the screw and has an opening of say inches, wouldnormally have an overall length of approximately 19 inches when open. Inthe situation in which the feed screw was not actually movable but waslocated above the rail on which the movable jaw travels, the nut beingon the movable jaw, the base of the vise had to be several times longerthan the space between the jaws when open. This was because the movablejaw required sufficient length to contain the end of the feed screw, theaxis of which was in a horizontal plane vertically above that in whichthe movable jaw moves.

This problem was solved by the present invention by fixing the feedscrew means against axial movement, extending it along the base betweenend blocks and locating the feed screw means in a plane below that ofthe rail on which the movable jaw travels.

To move the movable jaw toward and from the fixed jaw, it has beenproposed heretofore to provide two parallel feed screws between the jawsin an effort to keep the working surfaces of the jaws exactly paralleleven when engagement of the work with the jaws is close to the outeredges of the jaws. However, such proposals involve moving the movablejaw, screw and crank away from the fixed jaw, thus elongating the viseand making it inconvenient or sometimes impossible to use the vise onthe table of a machine tool.

This condition is avoided by the present invention by fixing the feedscrew against axial movement and providing the movable jaw with a nutfor each feed screw and mounting the feed screws so as to lie in a planebelow the plane in which the movable jaw travels.

Another important feature'of this invention is the provision of meansfor protecting the feed screw from being damaged by engagement withtools or other articles and against chips and/or particles ground offthe work from falling on the feed screws. This is accomplished bymounting the feed screw under and close to the overhanging edges of therail on which the movable jaw travels.

As will be seen, applicant has overcome the disadvantageous features ofthe prior proposals and yet has produced a simpler, sturdier and morereliable vise for the purpose stated.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. I is a plan view of the vise of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation.

FIG. 3 is a view of one end of the body.

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

F IG. 5 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2, withportions of the rail-supporting block broken away to show the feed nutand feed screw.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the movable jaw taken on theline 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows a portion of a worktable and a vise of the presentinvention having one end resting thereon.

FIG. 8 is a similar view showing the vise of the present inventionhaving one side resting on the worktable.

FIG. 9 is like FIG. 7 with the vise resting on its other end.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the rail, the rail support andthe base made from one integral piece of metal.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the presently preferred form ofthe present invention comprises a body 10 having a bottom plate 11, endpieces 12 and 13, a rail 14 and a rail-supporting block 15.

Slidably mounted on the rail 14 is a movable jaw 16 having an uppermember 17 engaging the top surface 18 and adjacent side surfaces 19 ofthe rail 14 and lower members 20 secured to the upper member 17 byscrews 21 and engaging the bottom surface 22 and side surface 19 of therail 14. The surfaces 23 of the lower members 20 engage the surfaces 24of the railsupporting block 15.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a gib 47 backed by set screws 48 may beplaced between the surface 19 of the rail and adjacent surface of theupper portion of the movable jaw to take up lost motion of the movablejaw laterally of the rail and to compensate for wear.

To move the movable jaw 16 to and from a fixed jaw 25 on the end block13, there are provided two feed screws 26 which are mounted in thethrust-absorbing means 27 in the end pieces 12 and I3. Mounted on eachfeed screw 26 is a feed nut 28 which is located in a cutout 29 in eachlower member 20 of the jaw 16. The dimensions of the width of the nut 28and the cutout 29 are such that the nut may float slightly vertically toavoid binding of the nut on the screw.

When the vise is assembled, rotation of the feed screw 26 by engagementwith the nuts 28 will cause the movable jaw 16 to slide along the railand be advanced toward or withdrawn from the fixed jaw depending on thedirection in which the screws 26 are rotated.

By having the rail 14 wide so that the edges 30 are spread apart asubstantial distance and having the feed screws located under the edgeportion 30 of the rail 14, the movable jaw 16 will be advanced andwithdrawn 'aiasjwiih the screws 26 are located under the projecting edgeportions 30 of the rail and inwardly of the sides of the movable jaw,they are protected against being damaged by being struck by otherobjects. Since the screws 26 are under the edge portions 30 of the rail14, grindings and/or chips are prevented from falling directly on or inthe threads of the screws.

end piece 12 has two parts, an inner plate 31 which engages the end ofthe rail 14 and rail-supporting block 15, and an outer plate 32 whichengages the inner plate 31 and is secured to the rail 14 and base plate11 by counterbored screws 34. The end piece 13 is secured to the rail 14and bottom plate 11 by screws 35.

Mounted on the end of each feed screw 26 and located in a cavity betweensaid plates 31 and 32 is a gear 36. Mounted in bearings in the plates 31and 32 is a gear 37 meshing with the gears 36 and which has a wrenchsocket 38 countersunk or at least flush with the surface 39 of the plate32. When the socket wrench is inserted in the socket 38 and rotated,both screws will rotate in unison to move the movable jaw 16 toward orfrom the fixed jaw 25. When the socket wrench is removed, the vise canbe used with the end surface 39 engaging the worktable of the machinetool.

invention are within the overall dimension of the body in all positionsof the movable jaw; also, that the distance to which the jaws may beseparated is limited only by the width of the movable jaw 16 and thelength of the rail 14 and feed screws 26.

According to this invention in its preferred form, the surface 40 of thebottom plate 11 and the bottom surface 41 of the end pieces 12 and 13are finished and flush with each other and the surfaces 39 and 42 of theend pieces are square with the surfaces of the bottom plate. Hence, thevise of the present invention can support on any one of five of itssides on a flat worktable surface 43 as shown in FIGS. 2, 7, 8 and 9 inwhich positions a workpiece is accessible for tool engagement.

The lead of the screw th reads on the screws 2 6 and the pitch of thegears will, of course, depend on the character of the work to beperformed and the precision required.

The body of the vise for convenience sake has been described as thoughthe base plate 11, end blocks 12 and 13, rail support 15 and rail 14were physically separate pieces, which they may be. However, it iswithin the scope of this invention to make some or all of said elementsintegral. For instance, in FIG. 10 the rail 14a, the rail support 15aand the base plate 11a may be formed integrally from a single piece ofmetal.

The surfaces of the various parts whether made in one or more pieces arefinished true and square relative to each other in order to obtain theadvantages of being able to support the body 10 on various portions ofits surfaces.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimsand portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A machine tool vise having a planar base plate adapted to be mountedon and releasably secured to the worktable of a machine tool; an endblock on each end of said base plate; rail means; rail-support meanscentrally located on said base plate and extending upwardly therefrombetween said end blocks; a fixed jaw on one of said end blocks; amovable jaw slidably mounted on said rail means, said rail meanscomprising a plate extending longitudinally between said end blocks andtransversely across the vise to form a support for a workpiece fittingbetween the jaws while said movable jaw is being moved into or out ofclamping engagement with the workpiece, said plate having longitudinalside edge portions extending laterally substantially beyond saidrail-support means, said movable jaw having lateral extensions extendingsubstantially beyond said plate; one at each longitudinal side edgeportion of said plate, and downwardly extending portions engaging saidlongitudinal side edge portions of said plate to be guided thereby; feedscrew means extending between and mounted to rotate in said end blocksand fixed against axial movement, said feed screw means comprising apair of laterally spaced feed screws; nut means on said downwardlyextending portions of said movable jaw engaging said screw means todrive the movable jaw to and from the fixed jaw, said screw means andnut means being located under said lateral extensions of said plate andclosely adjacent said rail-support means whereby protection againstdamage is afforded said screw means and the movable jaw may travel onsaid rail means the full distance between said end blocks; and means forrotating said screws in uni-

1. A machine tool vise having a planar base plate adapted to be mounted on and releasably secured to the worktable of a machine tool; an end block on each end of said base plate; rail means; rail-support means centrally located on said base plate and extending upwardly therefrom between said end blocks; a fixed jaw on one of said end blocks; a movable jaw slidably mounted on said rail means, said rail means comprising a plate extending longitudinally between said end blocks and transversely across the vise to form a support for a workpiece fitting between the jaws while said movable jaw is being moved into or out of clamping engagement with the workpiece, said plate having longitudinal side edge portions extending laterally substantially beyond said rail-support means, said movable jaw having lateral extensions extending substantially beyond said plate, one at each longitudinal side edge portion of said plate, and downwardly extending portions engaging said longitudinal side edge portions of said plate to be guided thereby; feed screw means extending between and mounted to rotate in said end blocks and fixed against axial movement, said feed screw means comprising a pair of laterally spaced feed screws; nut means on said downwardly extending portions of said movable jaw engaging said screw means to drive the movable jaw to and from the fixed jaw, said screw means and nut means being located under said lateral extensions of said plate and closely adjacent said rail-support means whereby protection against damage is afforded said screw means and the movable jaw may travel on said rail means the full distance between said end blocks; and means for rotating said screws in unison. 